No Result
View All Result
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Citi Business News
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Agriculture
    • Economy
    • General
    • Government
    • Local Economy
    • Top Stories

    Ghana Airports Company (GACL) Earns Top Honor as ‘Most Profitable’ State-Owned Enterprise at PELT Awards 2022

    IMF: Ghana has fulfilled obligations, awaiting creditor action on debt restructuring

    IMF, World Bank work to accelerate debt treatment for Ghana, others under G20

    Zambia advises Ghana to have restrictive laws on debt accumulation 

    Ken Ofori-Atta, Ministry of Finance for Ghana, gives an interview during day 3 of the AfDB Annual Meetings on 13 June 2019 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. (Photo by Malick Silue)

    2024 budget: Government commits to more expenditure cuts, aggressive growth, jobs

    Customer Service Week: Pan-African Savings and Loans provides medical services to clients

    Former Capital Bank CEO Ato Essien jailed 15 years

    NPA sanctions seven OMCs for illicit fuel distribution

    Gold Coast Fund Management Company customers begin day 2 of protest at Finance Ministry

  • Business
    • All
    • Agribusiness
    • Banking And Finance
    • Manufacturing
    • Markets
    • Mining
    • Oil And Gas
    • Real Estate
    • Tourism
    • Transport

    Zenith Bank @ 18 – Celebrating a legacy of financial excellence

    Former Capital Bank CEO Ato Essien jailed 15 years

    IMF clarifies Ghana’s growth rate projection

    NPA sanctions seven OMCs for illicit fuel distribution

    Gold Coast Fund Management Company customers begin day 2 of protest at Finance Ministry

    IMF awaits Ghana’s agreement with bilateral creditors before releasing next tranche of $3bn bailout

    Development Bank Ghana set to diversify financial offerings by introducing equity fund alongside lending activities.

    Access Bank registers a GH¢0.30 increase in its share price as the local stock exchange witnesses no declines

    Ghana’s 3% economic growth an indication of a resilient economy – IMF Mission Chief

  • TECHNOLOGY

    Ghana loses GHS 49.5 million to cyber fraud in nine months

    Nigeria aims for $5 billion tech investment by 2027

    Genius IT Foundation achieves STEM.org accreditation

    Pharmaceutical Society charged to utilize AI to transform industry

    Apple says iPhone and iPad apps will show up on the vision OS App Store from the get-go

    China launches $41 billion fund to accelerate semiconductor industry

    Digital marketing: Event managers urged to explore growth opportunities

    Govt. urged to commit more investments to enhance AI competencies

    Stakeholders in digital ecosystem charged to do more to protect child privacy

  • INTERNATIONAL
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Middle East
    • US

    A look into how business in Nigeria has fared since President Tinubu’s election

    The effect of the Israel-Gaza conflict and national census ripples across SA’s economy

    West Africa records growth despite coups and underperformance of its largest economies

    World Bank projects Africa’s economy to slow down to 2.5%

    Billion dollar opioid addiction market fuels Nigeria’s drug crisis

    Nigeria aims for $5 billion tech investment by 2027

    Punitive domestic tariffs threaten African trade

    South Africa adds Ghana to E Visa list

    Ofori-Atta commends G20 for AU’s inclusion, urges common voice

  • FEATURES
  • Videos
Citi Business News
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Agriculture
    • Economy
    • General
    • Government
    • Local Economy
    • Top Stories

    Ghana Airports Company (GACL) Earns Top Honor as ‘Most Profitable’ State-Owned Enterprise at PELT Awards 2022

    IMF: Ghana has fulfilled obligations, awaiting creditor action on debt restructuring

    IMF, World Bank work to accelerate debt treatment for Ghana, others under G20

    Zambia advises Ghana to have restrictive laws on debt accumulation 

    Ken Ofori-Atta, Ministry of Finance for Ghana, gives an interview during day 3 of the AfDB Annual Meetings on 13 June 2019 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. (Photo by Malick Silue)

    2024 budget: Government commits to more expenditure cuts, aggressive growth, jobs

    Customer Service Week: Pan-African Savings and Loans provides medical services to clients

    Former Capital Bank CEO Ato Essien jailed 15 years

    NPA sanctions seven OMCs for illicit fuel distribution

    Gold Coast Fund Management Company customers begin day 2 of protest at Finance Ministry

  • Business
    • All
    • Agribusiness
    • Banking And Finance
    • Manufacturing
    • Markets
    • Mining
    • Oil And Gas
    • Real Estate
    • Tourism
    • Transport

    Zenith Bank @ 18 – Celebrating a legacy of financial excellence

    Former Capital Bank CEO Ato Essien jailed 15 years

    IMF clarifies Ghana’s growth rate projection

    NPA sanctions seven OMCs for illicit fuel distribution

    Gold Coast Fund Management Company customers begin day 2 of protest at Finance Ministry

    IMF awaits Ghana’s agreement with bilateral creditors before releasing next tranche of $3bn bailout

    Development Bank Ghana set to diversify financial offerings by introducing equity fund alongside lending activities.

    Access Bank registers a GH¢0.30 increase in its share price as the local stock exchange witnesses no declines

    Ghana’s 3% economic growth an indication of a resilient economy – IMF Mission Chief

  • TECHNOLOGY

    Ghana loses GHS 49.5 million to cyber fraud in nine months

    Nigeria aims for $5 billion tech investment by 2027

    Genius IT Foundation achieves STEM.org accreditation

    Pharmaceutical Society charged to utilize AI to transform industry

    Apple says iPhone and iPad apps will show up on the vision OS App Store from the get-go

    China launches $41 billion fund to accelerate semiconductor industry

    Digital marketing: Event managers urged to explore growth opportunities

    Govt. urged to commit more investments to enhance AI competencies

    Stakeholders in digital ecosystem charged to do more to protect child privacy

  • INTERNATIONAL
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Middle East
    • US

    A look into how business in Nigeria has fared since President Tinubu’s election

    The effect of the Israel-Gaza conflict and national census ripples across SA’s economy

    West Africa records growth despite coups and underperformance of its largest economies

    World Bank projects Africa’s economy to slow down to 2.5%

    Billion dollar opioid addiction market fuels Nigeria’s drug crisis

    Nigeria aims for $5 billion tech investment by 2027

    Punitive domestic tariffs threaten African trade

    South Africa adds Ghana to E Visa list

    Ofori-Atta commends G20 for AU’s inclusion, urges common voice

  • FEATURES
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citi Business News
No Result
View All Result

Domestic workers in Ghana and COVID-19 [Article]

August 18, 2020
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Whatsapp

Many organizations have laid-off workers with others slashing salaries of their workers due to the adverse effect COVID 19 has had on businesses.

Most of these persons we have heard of or know are captured and fall within the formal sector. But there are many others, who provide critical roles usually in private homes and offices who have lost their jobs; Domestic Workers.

Although there are provisions in the Labour Act,2003 for domestic workers, there are no clear rules and guidelines for them here in Ghana.

ADVERTISEMENT

They are classified under live-in or live-out domestic workers. Live-in domestic workers are those who reside in the house where they perform their work while live-out workers live outside their place of work.

They are categorized within the informal sector of the economy and many of them lack any explicit labour and employment legislation

The International Labour Organization stipulates that there are 67 million domestic workers around the world; 80 percent of whom are women.

A significant number of this number, that is 55 million according to the ILO are likely to lose their job. That notwithstanding, 37 million of affected numbers are women.

Considering the role women play in homes and contributing to the economy, these numbers are huge and if strategies are not put in place to aid them, this becomes a difficult task and the burden on the society as a whole will be felt drastically.

Although there is no readily available data on the number of domestic workers, their numbers are believed to be in the tens of thousands.

I meet up Sarah Akweley Yemoh in La, a Ga community in the Greater Region of Ghana, who has been a domestic worker for over 17 years.

She used to work in two different households prior to the COVID 19 pandemic and gained a monthly income of 400 cedis.

She breaks down after a few minutes of trying to keep up a brave face. She says the last few months since the lockdown was implemented have been extremely tough for her. To Aunty Sarah, the lockdown has been a “shutdown.’

“It is shut down because of the impact it has on my livelihood. It has been difficult. I went to work and they asked me to return when the country is COVID free. If someone calls me to wash for them, I’m willing to do it because there is nothing to survive on,” she says.

The majority of families, especially within the urban centres, rely on domestic workers to clean their homes and other household chores.

However, with the onset of COVID 19, many employers have had to part ways with their domestic workers because they no longer need their services since they and their children are at home but also because employers no longer want to receive them in their homes because of isolation measures.

For many domestic workers who live from hand to mouth, this loss has had a big impact with many of them unable to pay rent and therefore facing the risk of evictions and homelessness.

Some of the live-in workers also risk not being allowed to take their off-days due to the social and physical distance requirements while others are afraid to demand full payment or even more pay for the additional work caused by the lockdown.

Since many of them work without formal contracts, terminating them is easy and those who remain in employment are more cautious in demanding their rights as they fear losing their jobs.

At the onset of the pandemic, the  Domestic Workers Union which was established in 2015 to look into the welfare of domestic workers, issued a statement asking the government to intervene and give them assistance.

The union asked the government to provide some of the resources set aside for economic recovery to go to informal workers, particularly domestic and home-based care workers.

At the same time, the union appealed to the government to ratify and adopt the ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers which sets out the rights and protections for domestic workers.

Eva Akakpo, the president of the Ghana Domestic Workers Union which currently has 2,000 members is now distraught.

She has had to cough up money from her own pocket to support some of her members who are in dire need.

In early April, the International Domestic Workers Federation set up a USD2 million Solidarity fund to provide domestic workers with among others, protective gear, hygienic products so that they can continue working; give out food and a little cash to members in critical condition.

The federation was giving grants of between USD5,000 – USD10,000 to its affiliates in different countries.

At least 48 governments have instituted measures targeted at alleviating the impact of Covid19 on the informal sector.

These involve a one-off or a three-month cash transfer to those who are unemployed or are unregistered in the government’s social security or grants program.

Only Spain has introduced specific measures targeting domestic workers. This follows aggressive lobbying by SEDOAC, an association that fights for the labour, civil, political, and social rights of all domestic workers in Spain.

The income security policy instituted would ensure that domestic workers were paid 70 % of their wages, a benefit equivalent to unemployment insurance.

On July 26, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced the establishment of a National Unemployment Insurance Scheme to provide temporary income to those who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Once approved by Parliament, a National Unemployment Insurance Scheme will be instituted and will provide temporary income support to workers that have lost their jobs.

The government is increasing funding, under the CAP Business Support Scheme, with an additional one hundred and fifty million cedis (GH¢150 million), to ensure an increased number of beneficiaries,” he said at the time.

However, for people like Nii Odartey, a gardener who lost his job in March, the promise of an unemployment insurance scheme is just a pipe dream. Odartey, like Aunty Sarah, is now dependent on family members and friends to sustain him.

“ People don’t know if you have COVID or not and most of them are of the impression that you have it so it’s best for you to stay at home. I’m not working now. I stay at home and nothing is really going on. No money, Nothing. If you don’t have any relative that is going to support you, then that is it!” he says.

Domestic workers are needed now more than ever as most are at home and the work that comes with it. However, the self-isolation measures many employers have adopted make it difficult for the live-out domestic workers to continue with their jobs. Those who live in have experienced additional workload and especially where they are also expected to take on home-based care for those who may be unwell or the aged, who are at more risk.

Domestic workers across the globe have been affected by the pandemic. In June 2017, the government banned the issuance of visas to Ghanaian domestic workers working in the Gulf states following widespread reports of mistreatment and abuse.

However, despite the ban, Ghanian nationals, the majority of them women, have continued to travel to these countries for work. Since the pandemic broke out, private individuals and the government has spent numerous resources to help these women return home.

The first ever multi-dimensional survey on poverty indicated that two out of every five Ghanaians are poor those living below the; using multi-dimensional poverty parameters.

Unless the cash transfers and unemployment insurance scheme kicks in immediately, domestic workers like Aunty Sarah will slide into the category of the extremely poor and swell the numbers of those living in desperate circumstances.

–

The writer Zoe Abu- Baidoo is a fellow of the African Women Journalism Project. The fellowship is an initiative with support from the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ).

 

 

Source: Zoe Abu-Baidoo Addo
Tags: Citi Business NewsDomestic workersILO
Previous Post

‘The Big 4’ firms dominate audit of listed companies on Ghana Stock Exchange [Article]

Next Post

Farmers urged to adopt productive methods to boost yields

Next Post

Farmers urged to adopt productive methods to boost yields

Accra Kotoka International Airport Arrivals
ADVERTISEMENT
Citi Business News

© 2023 Citi Business News - CitiBusinessNews.com by CNR Digital.

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • INTERNATIONAL
  • FEATURES
  • Videos

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • INTERNATIONAL
  • FEATURES
  • Videos

© 2023 Citi Business News - CitiBusinessNews.com by CNR Digital.